I have been meaning to write something about Obama winning the Nobel Peace prize. Now that I’ve had some time to cool off and think about it, I have a few things to share. I’ve been angry about something that happened the morning the prize was announced. One of my Saxon co-workers confronted me with the news that morning, all angry about it. I actually felt that he was angry at me. He said “your BOY won the Nobel Peace prize…” “Excuse me” I said. He repeated: “Obama!” I irrupted: Then he deserved it!” We said a few other things and the room got silent and very uncomfortable. After our heated discussion was over, I disengaged by surfing to my news sources to get the details. Of course, my joy was spoiled by what had happened. I was caught off guard and was ignorant of the unfolding event.
I spent that entire weekend fluming about the down-right ugliness of the right wing over Obama’s great honor. Why should this make them angry? (My conclusions are a case study for another discussion.) I thought about what I should say to my co-worker. This is what I concluded I would say: “You need to get a grip. I don’t care if you hate Obama. I did not like Bush. You can be angry at Obama for whatever unreasonable reason you choose. However, you will respect the fact that I am a devoted Obama supporter and you may not, under any circumstance, express that anger towards me.”
I saw that co-worker today; he stopped in my office which I share with two others to jabber as he always does. I shot him a glance and later joined the conversation just to dissipate my building anger. I locked eyes with him and decided to let it go for now. There will be a time.
Does Mr. Obama Deserve the Nobel Peace Prize?
Of course he does… and this is not just my bias answer. It was awarded to him. He was honored. As the case for any award, someone holding the power to do so, granted it. That person or committee chose him from a short list of worthy nominees. Obama won because he was the top deserving recipient. What has he done…He has inspired the entire world. How quickly have we gotten how grim prospects were in this spring and summer of 2009. Nearly with the change of seasons, our economy changed to direct of recovery. Obama message of Hope and Change was powerful. As a result, (Guess what!) we step back from the brink and did not sink into the malady of the 1920’s.
What about peace…we are scaling down the conflict in Iraq. We are backing away from our previously confrontational style with Iran. The message is: “Let us have dialogue before conflict. Let us have peace.”
Too bad, the conservative could not find it in their hearts to celebrate. We should. We also should celebrate the nominees for Chemistry, Biology, etc. Maybe we should have a serious discussion about why each recipient was deserving. Perhaps then, we can truly appreciate a Nobel Prize.
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